Requiem Literature?
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 322
    Dear friends,

    In January I am giving a 4-hour workshop on chant at the local university, and am especially interested in exploring the relation of the Dies Irae to more modern works of music and art. I'm also seeking information on the texts of the Requiem chants. Any direction would be most appreciated!

    Angela
  • DougS
    Posts: 793
    Did you read the Wikipedia entry? It has several good examples of quotations of the chant in classical music.

    For more detail on some of the well-known instances, the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique quotation is in mvt. 5 and the Rachmaninov Paganini Variations quotations are most prominent in variations 7 and 8. It is on the list, but I would also highly recommend the excerpts from Michael Daugherty's Metropolis Symphony, a very cool work that seems like it would go over well with a general audience.

    You could of course play excerpts from various Requiem settings to illustrate that the chant isn't always a direct source of inspiration for setting the text.
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,201
    Also, the Rachmaninov Isle of the Dead quotes it.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    As does the musical Sweeney Todd:
    "Swing Your Razor Wide, Sweeney!" @ 0:57
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    Camille Saint-Saens -- Danse macabre
    Of course I hope your presentation will favor the organ transcription
    http://imslp.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre,_Op.40_(Saint-Sa%C3%ABns,_Camille)
    performed by the transcriber Edwin H Lemare
    http://www.orgel.com/music/lemare-e.html

    Guiseppe Verdi -- Requiem
    My favorite bits of the Dies Irae are his sections: Dies irae, Tuba mirum, Mors stupebit.
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 322
    Thanks so much, everyone. I'm currently swamped getting my school's Christmas program ready, but am eagerly looking forward to perusing the materials you mention.
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    How about Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, which uses the Dies Irae a great deal in an orchestral context, very effectively too?
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    That is a great piece!

    Also, good accompanying artwork if you're doing a presentation:
    http://www.stmoroky.com/reviews/gallery/bocklin/iotd.htm
  • Erik P
    Posts: 152
    A favorite Dies Irae quote: Brahms, op. 118, no. 6

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AQ2J_LgfVo
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Don't forget Crumb's Black Angels and the altered version in Mahler 2 - finale.
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